fo & ready to go

Another lace scarf from Allspice is off the needles, blocked and ready for sale at the upcoming MAPACA Jubilee next weekend. I'm still working up a hat, but not sure I will finish it by the time I leave.

Today, I am making travel plans for the wheel that I will present on. What a beautiful Great Wheel with some special details!...I am grateful that Fred Hatton finished working on it in time for the show. (Thanks Fred!)

It is made from Oak...

...notice the unusual horn collar on the head-post...

it also features these beautiful turnings on the spokes...

...I took the wheel for a test drive on Friday, and I enjoyed the ride!

My favorite part of this wheel is the tensioning device, cleverly crafted, isn't it?

This wheel is for sale, if you would like to see it in action, head over to the MAPACA Jubilee at the PA Farm Complex in Harrisburg, April 8-10.... I'd be happy to let you take it for a spin ;-)

april fool

The fox sparrow arrives from the south...

only to fall victim to nature's April Foolery.

the earth sings

Sometimes, I study.

The Internet is such an amazing research tool. In an instant, I can locate the areas of my interest and access obscure materials, that years ago would have taken so long to obtain, if I even knew about them.

I really enjoy reading and learning about the history of certain things. .... Gardening, Flax, Spinning, and my own personal genealogy.

When I find a book, a video, or just a simple article that includes all of these things in one package, I get inspired. It is a good feeling when everything connects.

Karol Plicka directed a film in 1933. It was called zem spieva, The Earth Sings. When I watched it, it stirred up something deep inside of me. I watched the women work the flax, I thought of my great grandmother...and it made my heart sing.

The original film clip can be found here.

Besides showing the processing of flax, the film is a great piece of ethnography. I found two other clips from the 60 minute movie, that covers some customs and traditions. There are images of the Kroje as well..I can only imagine how things would look in color!

perigee spring

Spring arrives with a perigee moon this year. They tell me it is the largest full moon we have had in the last 18 years. Supermoon. The full moon of March has other names...Sap Moon, Worm Moon, Crow Moon... to name a few.

I have finished my spin-to-knit-along cowl...details here...

...and even though the calendar says it is spring, there is still some snow in the forecast later this week.

The cowl will be cozy around my neck as I begin to rake the garden and prune the fruit trees and berry bushes. There are promises to uncover, the buds are starting to show, and another season turns.

mapaca jubilee

Several weeks ago I was invited by Alan Clark, MAPACA president, to be part of the 2011 MAPACA Jubilee Celebration! It is my great pleasure to be able to attend as one of the hand-spinners that will be demonstrating how to prepare and spin the fleece of these wonderful creatures.

The Mapaca Jubilee runs from April 8-10 and is open to the public. There are all sorts of events for everyone! I am excited about going! The Jubilee will be held at the Pennsylvania Farm Show Complex 2300 North Cameron Street Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

Since I have never attended an alpaca show, I wanted to get an idea of what the MAPACA Jubilee is all about. I decided to ask Trish Tyler-Davis. Trish is wearing many hats these days, one of which is the Hospitality Coordinator for the MAPACA Jubilee. Although she is quite busy, she was generous with her time and answered all of my questions. She even agreed to let me share them with you here. Thanks Trish!

me: So, Trish...what IS MAPACA Jubilee all about?

Trish: MaPaca is a cooperative group of alpaca breeders in the Mid-Atlantic states. The Jubilee is held annually in the spring and includes mini-seminars, guest speakers, vendors, a fleece show, and of course many beautiful alpacas. They really are lot of fun!

me: And what is the focus of this years Jubilee?

Trish: This year marks the 15th Anniversary of this alpaca show which is one of the largest and most hightly respected alpaca shows in the United States. North American Alpaca Fiber is beautiful, and one of our goals for this show is to connect the producers of this wonderful fiber with the end users. We are striving to promote networking between the owners /breeders and the fiber community.

Check the website under Mundo “Fibra!” Here you will find all things related to alpaca fiber… the fleece show, spin-off display, fiber demonstrations, our first Fleece-to-Shawl competition, and the debut of the MaPaca Member Product Store. We’re increasing our focus on fiber with this year’s show, so you will find this feature at the public entrance to the Expo Hall. Since we are advertising heavily in fiber-related media, we expect to see a surge of fiber enthusiasts to see what we alpaca fiber producers have been up to.

me: Do you ever feature any special events or workshops?

Trish: Yes! You can visit the website and view the Schedule of Events which lists the time, date and location of our seminars and demonstrations.

We will have a book signing by Intarsia Knitter Peggy Gaffney...

Agate Olek will be crocheting...

There will be weaving with – Deb Potts-Reagan

and drop Spindle Spinning will be demonstrated by Sandy Roberts...

and of course, you will be demonstrating fiber prep and wheel spinning!

me: Well, what about the Alpacas? How many Alpacas come to the Jubilee?

Trish: This year we host over 800 beautiful registered Alpacas that will be there with their owners. These participants are interested in promoting their farms and their fiber, and they are some of the most outgoing, interesting and pleasent people to meet with. They are more than happy to talk with the public and answer whatever questions you might have about their animals and their fiber.

(I saved the most important question for last...)

me: So, will there be fiber available to purchase?

Trish: Absolutely! You can shop in the vendor village, and this year the Jubilee will feature our own MAPACA Member Product Store, where you will be able to purchase the home grown alpaca products in every stage of processing, from fleece to roving and batts to yarn and finished alpaca products...The MAPACA Member Product Store is really a wonderful showcase that demonstrate what is done with Alpaca fiber!

If you have any questions for Trish, you can email her trishtylerdavis@verizon.net

So, I'd like to invite you to come and attend the Jubilee too! Please stop by and say hello, I'll be demonstrating how to prepare and spin Alpaca fiber from lock formation, to roving.... on the Antique Great Wheel as well as the more modern Ashford Traditional Wheel and even on my Russian Style Supported Spindle. My demonstrations will be informal and ongoing, so there will be lots of time for Q & A. I hope to meet you there!

crocus skal cowl

A few weeks ago, I was invited to become a moderator for the We Love North American Alpaca Group on Ravelry. Being that ILNAA ~it was hard to say no.

A few days ago, the group started a March- Spin- to- Knit- Along. The plan is to spin your alpaca, or a blend thereof, and knit it into a cowl during the month of March. The pattern is designed by Ami Madison. The group plans to discuss their on going projects throughout the month, and address any success or failure. The idea here is collective knowledge...learning some tips and/or skills from each other in order to add to an individuals existing repertoire.

Personally, the SKAL is a good exercise for me. It is helping me to plan for a project..working it from the fiber to finish. There are many times when a spinner can select, from her stash, the perfect yarn for a project. For this exercise, I have selected a pattern and I am attempting to spin a certain type of yarn to be used for it.

The fiber I am using is composed from "seconds"..the shorter and second best bits of a fleece.

The seconds were dyed with Jacquard Acid dyes. When I started to sample, I blended directly on the hand cards, but have since moved on to blending one color at a time and taking small bits of each color to spin sequentially. Tufts of "short cuts" or felted slubs were allowed to remain in my singles. The singles were plied and the color runs were sometimes equal with slight overlap and some barber-pole stripes.

When I selected my colors, I had visions of purple and yellow crocus on a spring green lawn...and when I look at my results..well...not so much! I had not planned on so much pooling ...

However, the cowl..(so far)..does have a redeeming factor...it is made with Alpaca! And the texture of the yarn is slubby and soft. The seconds have behaved as I hoped they would, and I have a nice lumpy lopi yarn of approx 9-12 wpi. There is success with the yarn, but not the dye. So, there is always the choice- or possibility- of another trip to the dye pot.

What say you? Shall I toss it into another cauldron?

february 2011 phenological notes

1st snow & ice storm
2nd groundhog no shadow!
14th mallard ducks on river
15th day melt begins
18th eagles pair
22nd opossum and fox wake up
24th chickens laying increase
28th doves at feeder

sample, sample, sample

Remember these?

I finally decided to use some of my Shetland Samples...collected over the years...spinning a little bit here...a little bit there..and now I am weaving with them...samples making a sampler.

I set up the rigid heddle loom in front of the window for light. As I glance up, I can see the river. I like to weave first thing in the morning..when the light is best..and I can linger a few minutes with my coffee...

I like to weave in the afternoon...when the days tasks are finished...and I notice the mallard ducks are on the move..getting to know each other..choosing mates..spring isn't far away. They preen and dabble in the last bit of sun as it sets over the mountain.

After the sun disappears...the deer wander in to see if the birds tossed any seed to the ground from the feeder above.

The light is fading--no longer good for weaving, so I study the deer instead. They dig down deep for something to eat.

Another day, and now I can cut the weaving off the loom. This project appears in Spin-Off Magazine...Spaced Out Warps...recommended for beginner weavers ...

The scarf is tossed in the washing machine and fulled to mask the errors of uneven selvedge and create a puckered cloth..

I am learning. Weaving with my own handspun and seeing how it behaves as cloth is so interesting to me. It is quite different from knitting with handspun. And it is only just a sample..a woven sample scarf from handspun samples of different (sample) breeds of shetland sheep. There is a lot of information in this piece of work. I can read it like a book.

when looms won't behave

yes, yes, lets talk about the weather

"Let us shut our eyes, And talk about the weather."

.... from The Pirates of Penzance by Gilbert and Sullivan

The weather. There is lots of it today. And while I am removing it from the walkways and automobiles...let's talk about it.

First up...Our resident groundhog from the great state of Pennsylvania has announced and twittered an early spring!

Thank Heavens!

This does not happen often...I believe this might only be the 16th time since they have been keeping records....

If the groundhog had looked around a little bit longer, he may have noticed one of these snow spirals from spaceweather...

Such curious spirals! - The wires were spun clockwise, while the snow formations were spun anti-clockwise. The hardened snow spirals were rotated opposite of the metal wire's weave. How could they have been formed?

Readers with explanations are being invited to submit their ideas...

I suggest that Frau Holda was having fun. Every good spinster know who Frau Holda is...

Spinning Frau Holda is matron of all of women's domestic chores, but none so much as spinning, an activity with strong magical connotations and links to the other world: see Weaving (mythology).

Holda seems to personify the weather that transforms the land, for when it snows, it is said that Holda is shaking out her feather pillows; fog is smoke from her fire, and thunder is heard when she reels her flax. Holda traditionally appears in either of two forms: that of a snaggle-toothed, crooked-nosed old woman, or a shining youthful maiden clothed in white. As the maiden in white, her garments resemble the gleaming white of a fresh mantle of snow.

Certainly looks like her hand work to me!

phenological events January 2011

2nd eagles gather
6th ice on river
8th black ducks appear
18th snow shovel dig out
22nd temps drop frigid
24th ice dams
25th snow falling daily

winter whites on and off

on my windowsill....

off my needles

on my spindle.....

off my loom....

feets don't fail

At the slightest hint of an ice dam, the man of the house is out on the ladder with the roofraker.

He thinks nothing of the snow and ice beneath his feet, or the feet of the ladder...

...or for that matter...how many feet above the river he stands...

To calm my frazzled nerves I work on winding sock yarn for my next project. This is beautiful Berry Season from Serendipity Yarn and Roving that I picked up from my booth neighbor at the Endless Mountains fiber fest this past fall.

...putting my own feet to use in place of a swift my mind wanders..and I contemplate how many feet are in the 3 hundred and some odd yards that I am winding. I have been learning Excel and somehow, I suspect there is a formula for a spreadsheet for this too.

beggerwoman hat

Last week I worried when I could not find my earflap hat. The cold winds bite my ears, and I felt vulnerable going outside without it. I looked everywhere and finally decided that my only defense was to make another hat.

The lack of color in the world outside, makes me want lots of color inside. I select a pattern that calls for lots of colors. Dancing Stars Hat by Anne Carroll Gilmour. I do some stash diving in my handspun basket...add a few hours of knitting and va la!... presto!!..new hat!

Of course there were ends to weave in.

But I had it finished in time to wear for my walk down to the river today.

I've been watching the ice flows from my kitchen window, today I make time to look at them up close.

Be careful. The rocks are slippery and snow covered. Step with caution and be sure of your footing...don't drop the camera.

The ice flow formations are lovely, and the water glides gently past the rocks. The faster current channels stay open while the slower, still waters freeze up.

My new hat keeps me warm and I watch the ice flow by on its way to the larger tributary.

Curves lines and contrast of stone mirror curves lines and contrast of ice. River and rock reflect each other.

I have the moon and the stars around my head, and the world is my home.

phenological events Dec. 2010

2nd juncos arrive
8th cold weather moves in
21st big pine comes down
27th eastern bluebirds

sialia sialis happiness

The Eastern Bluebirds came today. They found the bittersweet berries.

We did not get the heavy snows that our friends to the south experienced, but we did get some and it brought with it the winter wind. The wind was howling last night, and continued on into the day. The bluebirds come to eat the berries as the wind subsides.

Bluebirds eat mostly insects and small invertebrates, but during the cold winter months berries are a good supplemental food source when the insects are hard to find.

Bluebirds are a welcome sight in winter. I was happy to watch them eat the berries.

The mythology of the bluebird of happiness has deep roots that go back thousands of years. Indigenous cultures across the globe hold similar myths and beliefs about the bluebird. It is a widely accepted symbol of cheerfulness, happiness, prosperity, hearth and home, good health, new births, the renewal of springtime, etc. Virtually any positive sentiments may be attached to the bluebird.

May these bluebirds bring you cheerfulness, prosperity, good health, new births, renewal and happiness in the new year!

Wenceslas